Improvement in upright-piano actions



F. FRICKINGER.

UPRIGH'I PIANO-ACTION.

Patented Jan. 25,1876.

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N PETERS. PHD

mer-rail.

UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

FRIEDRIGK FRIOKINGER, OF WEST NASSAU, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN UPRlGHT-PIANO ACTIONS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 172,620, dated January25, 1876; application filed November 15, 1875. y

To all whom it may concern:

the State of New York, have invented a new and Improved ActionforUpright Piano-Fortes, of which the following is a specification:

Figure l is a side view, partly in section,.of my improved piano-action.Fig. 2 is a similar view of the upper part of the same, showing theparts in a different position.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all thefigures.

This invention has for its object to simplify the construction ofupright-piano-forte actions, and at the same time to increase thedurability and augment the adj ustability of the same.

The invention consists of the various 'features of improvementhereinafter more fully pointed out.

The letter A in the drawing represents the hammer-rail, B thehammer-rest, and O the inner rail or fly-stop of an upright-pianoforteaction, these parts constituting virtually the stationary frame of theaction. D is one of the fingerkeys of the action, arranged on theinstrumentin the ordinary or suitable manner. E is the damper-bar,adjustable in suitable or ordinary manner. F is the lifter, whichconnects the inner end of the key D with the jack or fly-lever Gr, saidjack or flylever being at a pivoted to an arm, b, that is attached by ascrew, 0, to the face of the ham- H is the fly, made Lshaped, andpivoted at its angle to the fly-lever G. I is the hammer butt or shank,pivoted at d to the hinge-piece e, which is fastened upon thehammer-rail A. J is the hammer. K is the damper, pivoted to thehinge-piece e, and Lis the cord or string to be struck by the hammer anddamper. M is the back-jack projecting from the fly-lever G, and N thejack-catch on the ham mer-butt. The first feature of my improvementconsists in connecting the lower end of the lifter F directly to the keyD by means of a hook, f, which is rigidly secured in the key, andextends with its horizontal arm through a cushioned aperture in thelower part of the lifter, as is clearly shown in Fig. 1. By thisconnection 1 am able to dispose i of the system of jointed leverswhichare Be it known that I, FRIEDRIGK FRIOK-, INGER, of West Nassau,Rensselaer county, in

nowusually employed to connect the lower part of the lifter to a lowerrail of the frame.

The second feature of the invention consists in placing a screw, g, intothe key D, directly below the end of the lifter F, so that said liftervirtually stands on the said screw g, as in Fig. 1. I am, by thisarrangement, enabled to regulate the distance between the key andfly-lever as occasion may require.

The third feature of my invention has reference to the mode ofconnecting the upper end of the lifter F with the fly-lever G. I havefound that an ordinary pivot-connection between these parts is veryobjectionable, owing to the peculiar vibratory movement imparted tothem, and that flexible joint is here necessary. This joint orconnection I form from a piece, It, of leather, which has its ends gluedor otherwise fastened to the under side of the lever G, while its middleportion is doubled and inserted into a slit'of the lifter F. This slitis contracted upon the leather by a screw, I. That part of the slitwhich receives the lower end of the doubled leather is enlarged, so thatthe leather will be formed into an enlarged head, as shown.

I am aware that a leather packing for pivotpins has already been used inpiano-actions; for instance, as illustrated on theinner end of thehinge-piece 6, around the hammer-pivot d. But as an independentconnecting-joint, the leather, formed as described, and fastened withits ends to the lever Gr, has, as far as I am informed, never beforebeen-used.

My invention consists, fourthly, in a new manner of joining the fly H tothe hammerbutt I. Heretofore a spring has been usually applied to thehammer-butt to draw the hammer off the cord after it had struck thesame. But I simply attach a hook, j, to the back of the butt I, andcause it to pass through an aperture, H, in the fly H, as shown. The flywill, in throwing the hammer against the cord, be entirely free to act,and will not come in contact with the hook j; but when the fly is drawndown by the litter and lever 9 it will, by means of the hook j, alsotake hold of the hammer, as in Fig. 2, and draw it off the cord.

This arrangement is positive, reliable, and simpler of construction thanthe spring arran gement heretofore devised.

The aperture H, through the fly H, is of such form and in such positionthat its upper end will come in contact with the hook j as soon as theinner end of the key D and the free end of the lever G commence todescend, so that the fly will draw the hammer bodily off the string. Ithus attain an absolute control over the backward motion of the hammer,and am enabled. to repeat with great rapidity and exactness. Heretoforethe hammers were thrown off the strings either by means of springs or bytheir own weight, but not, to my knowledge, were they ever drawn bodilyoff the string by the fly. I am aware that a curved guide, similar to myhook j, is shown in the Patent No. 140,428, of July 1,1873, but therelative position of said pin to the aperture of the fly is not suchthat the fly in descending will draw the hammer back by means of saidguide.

My invention consists furthermore in applying a second dam per-spring,l, to the damperbar E, so that it may be caused to bear against thelower part of the damper, as in Fig. l, or thrown ofi the damper, as inFig. 2. The ordinary spring m crowds the upper part of the damperagainst the cord or string L, while an arm, n, of the lever G draws thedamper ofi immediately before the hammer strikes. Some pianists desirethe damper to reach the cord instantaneously after the hammer is drawnoff, and in this case the spring I is applied as in Fig. 1, to aid thespring m. Otherwise the spring 1 is turned 01'1" as in Fig. 2.

In order to bring the damper within proper reach of the spring Z, it hasto be extended downwardly beyond the lower part of the arm I) and leverG, as shown; and the last part of my invention consists in perforatingsuch lower part of the damper K, to give access to the screw 0, as shownat 0 in Fig. 1. This perforation was heretofore not necessary, as thedamper did not extend far enough down to conceal the screw 0; but as Irequire such extension for the use of the spring I, the aperture is alsorequired.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination of the key D with the hook fand with the lifter F, substantially as herein shown and described.

2. The combination of the key D and supporting-screw g with the lifterF, substantially as herein shown and described.

3. The double leather joint h attached to the lever G, and inserted inthe slit end of the lifter F, substantially in the manner and for thepurpose herein shown and described.

4. In a piano-action having the hammerbutt I, key D, and connectingmechanism c011- structed substantially'as described, the arrangementofthe hook j and slot 11 of the fly H relatively to each other, foreffecting the return of the hammer, substantially as set forth.

5. The damper K, combined with the spring m and with the additionalspring 1 on the damper-bar, substantially as herein shown and described.I 6. The damper K, perforated opposite the fastening-screw c of the armb, and combined with the spring l on the damper-bar, substantially asspecified.

FRIEDRIOK FRIGKINGER.

Witnesses:

ERNEST O. WEBB, G. O. MANNER.

